In his position as the Free Officers Union's head of intelligence, he operated in Syria, the Gulf states and Egypt in an attempt to gain international support for his group and their aims.

[12] In late 2015, Hussam said in an interview with the Sputnik news agency that he had evidence that Turkey bought oil from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Thereafter, numerous pro-opposition sources and rebel leaders claimed that Awak was a fraud who supported Russia and was not connected to the Free Syrian Army in any way.

[2][6] One year later, Hussam announced that he had defected from the FSA to the Syrian Democratic Forces, along with the Free Officers Union which reportedly had over one hundred members at the time.

[1][14] From then on, he served as SDF brigadier general, and praised the "YPG and YPJ [as] the sun that shone on the region with their outgoing mentality and their good behavior", while also saying that he supports the federalization of Syria.

[17] In early March 2018, Hussam and his wife disappeared in Jazira Region while visiting a person close to Humaydi Daham al-Hadi, leader of the Syrian Shammar.

His family consequently accused the Shammar Sheikh of having enforcedly disappeared the former officer near al-Yaarubiyah,[18] with his nephew asking Îlham Ehmed, co-chairperson of the Syrian Democratic Council, for help.

[20] Hussam is married to a Libyan woman[17] who was reportedly a former member of Muammar Gaddafi's Amazonian Guard according to a pro-Syrian opposition news site.